Spain remains one of the most important meeting destinations in the world

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranking for 2014 maintains Spain as the world's third largest meetings destination, a position that consolidates its enormous potential in this sector. In the cities section, Madrid and Barcelona also continue to be among the top five.

 

 

The organization's criteria for establishing its scale focuses on congresses that are held on a regular, rotating basis in at least three different countries and have at least 50 delegates.

Meetings of these characteristics that took place throughout the world monitored by ICCA in 2014 amounted to 11,505, a 1.5% lower than the previous year. In terms of participants, a total of 4,556,527 delegates were registered, a 0.9% less than in 2013.

The ranking by country has not moved in the top three positions, with United States in first place, with 831 congresses (up 0.2%); U.S. in first place, with 831 congresses (up 0.2%);  in second place, with 831 congresses (up 0.2%);s 0.2%); Germany in second place, with 659 meetings (8.7%), and third Spain with 578 events (+2.8%).

In the next positions are the United Kingdom (543 congresses; +3.4%), France (533 congresses; +1.1%), Italy (452 congresses; +1.1%), Japan (337 congresses; -1.5%), China (332 congresses; -2.4%), the Netherlands (307 congresses; -1.7%) and Brazil (291 congresses; -7.6%).

By cities and participants

Behind París (214) and Vienna (202), which are in first and second place this year, are París (202) and Vienna (202), respectively;n this year, Madrid (200) drops to third place, compared to the second place it held in 2013, although ahead of cities of the stature of London or Berlin. For its part, Barcelona (182) for from fourth to fifth place.

In terms of the number of participants, Madrid maintains the upward trend of the últimos exercises, an increase that has been recorded since 2011. Among the most striking data: the doubling of the 2013 figures in the low season.